Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Some reflections on Palestine UN statehood bid

The Palestinians will request the UN
General Assembly to upgrade their status from Permanent Observer to a
"non-member Observer State". For an UNGA resolution to
pass into this effect, it requires a simple majority, which means 50
percent plus one of all Member States present and participating in the
voting.

If the General Assembly decides to upgrade
Palestine’s status to a "non-member Observer State", this would
implicitly result in a collective recognition of Palestine as an independent
State. However, it is significant to emphasize that this doesn’t in any way
grant Palestine membership at the United Nations.

A status upgrade for Palestine would
qualify it for the “all States” clause contained in international treaties. As
a result, Palestine - as a State - would be able to become party to any
international treaty/agreement, whether by ratification or accession. In
addition, Palestine would be able to establish full diplomatic relations with
other States. This would further grant Palestine access to international
judicial bodies such as: the International Court of Justice and the
International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Futhermore, Palestine would be able to
directly bring to the attention of the Security Council or of the General
Assembly any dispute to which it is a party, in accordance with Article 35(2)
of the Charter of the United Nations.